JD Edwards rolls out SRM

J.D. Edwards & Co. on Wednesday unveiled a new SRM (supplier relationship management) solution designed to support electronic collaboration between an enterprise and its suppliers and customers to streamline business processes.

SRM, which is part of the new JD Edwards 5 enterprise suite, will leverage ERP (enterprise resource planning), advanced planning, and existing supplier applications such as supplier self-service to provide real-time proactive messaging and alerts presented via Web-based portals.

The solution is designed to address enterprise needs to eliminate cycle times, decrease inventory turns, reduce costs through volume spending agreements, and enhance the security of electronic transactions, according to company officials. It is designed to integrate planning, execution, and fulfillment functions as well as design and settlement capabilities to work together seamlessly.

JD Edwards in the future will make additional SRM enhancements to support the management of the five key functions of the Supplier Lifecycle -- design, plan, source, fulfill, and settle. The suite will optimize supplier relationships over the course of procuring direct goods, indirect goods, services, and people items -- a process that JD Edwards refers to as "supplier lifecycle management."

"This solution leverages a lot of our ERP capabilities," said Joel Reed, director of CRM (customer relationship management) and SRM. "The No. 1 thing you need to do is consolidate your commodities so you can say, 'Where do I need my suppliers to be located based on where I am today and where I'm going?'"The new solution will include four different types of alerts, including reactive alerts that notify in real time of a potential problem in the supply chain and transaction alerts, such as automatically notifying a supplier when inventory drops below a certain level so the supplier can replenish, Reed added.

Buyer Workstation, the next JD Edwards SRM product to be released, is slated for next year. Buyer Workstation will combine the strategic planning and fulfillment functions, laying the groundwork to develop the complete five-function SRM suite.

Hoffman Enclosures, a long-time customer that uses JD Edwards' OneWorld suite and the Advanced Planning Strategic Network Optimization module, will use portions of the Buyer Workstation offering to further integrate transactions and communications among suppliers and customers. The solution will help Hoffman respond to customer requests quickly and accurately by assessing its own resources and those of its suppliers in real time, said Gerry Wilichowski, vice president of business development at Minneapolis-based Hoffman.

The JD Edwards SRM vision is on target to support Hoffman's aggressive growth and profit improvement plans, he added.

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